This invention is directed to a method for electronically transmitting a text document along with linked information, and in particular, for transmitting a text document with linked information without interfering with or jeopardizing the integrity of the text document.
It is known in the art to transmit text documents such as reports or other types of information as an electronic data stream to a distant terminal by way of Internet, intranet, or the like. It is also known, to provide links within the text which allow the user of the terminal to view one document and retrieve specified associated material that is either associated with or related to the portion of the document text which contains the link.
It is often desirable to combine multiple elements into a single report. For example, written text may be combined with an illustrative image corresponding to that text, or, the text may, in fact, be describing or making comment on what is in the image. By way of example, a medical report describing the symptoms of a patient may include diagnostic images such as MRI, X-ray or the like. More generally, a report that represents interpretation of certain data such as the image or graphs or charts may include illustrative examples from the data. The example data may be included directly within the body of the report or it may be included by reference through a link. Often, these reports are what are known as signature reports, implying that the text of the report has not been tampered with. This is required so that other people making use of the report know that the report can be relied upon.
It is known to combine the illustrative image or data with the text, in effect linking the text through several methods. A first method is to embed the image directly into the text of the reports. However, such an embedding of the image in the report either requires technical know-how by the person creating the report who embeds the image into the report as they are writing it, or requires a second party to embed the image after the report has been completed. However, this brings into question the validity of the report once someone besides the author has manipulated the text to include the images. This is particularly important because any change to the report could result in misdiagnosis or mistreatment. Therefore, embedding pictures into a report after it has been prepared could result in jeopardizing the integrity of the report through inadvertent human error during the embedding process.
Furthermore, it is not always necessary that an image be present to make sense of the medical report. Therefore, embedding the image into the report may be a waste of screen space, text space, and the time of the doctor who is trying to make a quick study of the report.
To overcome these shortcomings, endnotes and web page hyperlinks (HTML) are provided to link the text to a desired address which will retrieve the required illustrative information (link information) as needed and display the link information along with the text. However, conventional endnotes in reports add markers to the body of the report and invalidate the signature. The HTML (hyperlink tags) also modify the body of the report and furthermore require HTML capable terminals in order to process the link.
Therefore, it is desired that a method be provided which allows the linking of text to illustrate data or images as desired which does not modify the text or interfere with the integrity of the text. In other words, it does not invalidate the signature for the report.